Before tomatoes were introduced to the Old World, there was basil. Its pungent flavor was used to spice a variety of dishes, including pesto--a classic Italian dish comprised of basil leaves ground into olive oil, spiced with garlic, and then accented with Parmesan cheese and pine nuts. When the tomato arrived, basil was its perfect complement for sauces and salads. But basil doesn't need the tomato to shine. It can stand alone. There are many varieties of basil, though most widely used and best known is sweet basil. If you buy a packet of basil and it's marked simply basil, it's sweet basil. Almost identical in flavor are Genovese and Neapolitan basils. Lettuce-leaf basil (or lattuga foglia basilico, as the Italians call it) tastes similar to sweet basil and has large, crinkly leaves.
At the other end of the size scale are the tiny-leafed basils known as piccolo, spicy globe, Greek, green ball, and fino verde. The flavor of these is clovelike and spicier than the larger-leafed varieties. In addition to being great-tasting, some of these small-leaf basils make attractive ornamentals. Without any pruning whatever, spicy globe will grow into a perfectly shaped round ball--these plants are great for bordering a flowerbed or used as a maintenance-free hedge.
Not only do basils vary by the size of their leaves, but there are also wide variations in flavor and taste. There are cinnamon, lemon, licorice, clove, and anise basils, each similar in fragrance to its namesake. There's even a Southeast-Asian type called tulsi, also known as holy basil.
The most colorful basils of all are the purple-leafed varieties. Dark opal, the best known, has been around for some time. A more recent addition is a purple, curly leafed variety called purple ruffles. Add the pink flowers of the purple basils to salads for a touch of both flavor and color.
Even if basil had no culinary uses, it would be an attractive garden plant. All basils have flowers, some more conspicuous than others. The most common sweet basil has tiny white flowers closely clustered along stems that emerge from the tops of the maturing plants. When dry, these flower stems are often used in dried flower arrangements. The purple opal basils have purple flowers, as does cinnamon basil. The flower clusters on cinnamon basil are widely spaced on stems twelve to eighteen inches long. Used as cut flowers, they add a spicy fragrance to fresh bouquets.
MARY, MARY, HOW DOES YOUR BASIL GROW?
Forget about those tiny jars of expensive, store-bought dried basil--this herb is so easy to grow, you can have it fresh, summer or winter. Starting it indoors
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